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The Caster - A magic-user for Swords & Sorcery Settings

Still rolling off of
my excitement (and bitter denial) I continue to attempt to port some
of the logic of Arame’s world into the terms of gaming. In this
case the general practice of magic in Arame’s sword and sorcery
world.

A quick note before
continuing: I introduce a new mechanic (for me anyway) called sanity
(see real original). A character’s sanity is nothing more than the
character’s wisdom score. Once that wisdom score is brought below 5
the character is considered utterly insane and becomes an NPC under
the Referee’s control.

To recover
sanity(Wisdom) the character needs to abstain from the use of
magic for one month for every point of Wisdom he is attempting to
recover. No character can ever recover more than their starting score
of sanity (Wisdom).

One final quick note
(I promise), ignore the “races permitted” section as I
purposefully put in the different cultural races from the currently
existing Arame stories. They do not, in any way effect how anyone can
play as a Caster unless that person is, of course, attempting to run
a game in the Arame story world (which would be utterly awesome!).

~*~

The Caster

Magic is very rare;
very few people in the world know it or know of it as a real thing
and not a superstition. Those who know magic do so at great personal
risk because the forces arcane are hash masters and could easily kill
any who attempt to use it.

There is no
difference between arcane, natural or divine magic and people who
have been casters have gone by many titles, including wizards and
priests. However, despite the power coming from the same source there
is a fundamental difference in the forces used and channeled, the
more violent the spell, the more dark the intent the more it weighs
on the caster’s soul.

Eldritch
Bolt: A sickening bolt of
unfocused magic that can deal 1d4 of damage to one target.

Mage Sight:
+2 Bonus to all saving throws regarding detection or understanding
of the arcane.

Caster Abilities

Enslave Demons –
Casters, after the 10th level, have the ability to ensnare
and enslave demons to their wills. However, the enslaved demon is a
reluctant servant and the Caster must succeed a saving throw – the
demon’s hit dice every day or risk setting the creature free. See
Table Below for details.

Table
1 – Enslaving Demons

Caster
Level

Demon
CL

10

11

12

13

14

15-
17

18-
19

20

6

10

7

4

4

4

S

S

S

7

13

10

7

7

4

4

S

S

8

16

13

10

7

7

4

4

S

9

19

16

13

7

7

4

4

S

10

20

19

16

10

7

7

4

S

11

-

20

19

13

10

7

7

4

12

-

-

20

19

13

10

7

7

13

-

-

-

20

19

13

10

7

Turn Undead –
Casters can turn undead creatures due to their innate understanding
of how the forces arcane work. See the table below for details.

Table
2 – Turning Undead

Caster Level

Undead
CL

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9-14

15-20

1

10

7

4

T

T

D

D

D

D

D

2

13

10

7

T

T

D

D

D

D

D

3

16

13

10

7

T

T

D

D

D

D

4

19

16

13

7

4

T

T

D

D

D

5

20

19

16

10

7

4

T

R

D

D

6

-

20

19

13

10

7

4

T

T

D

7

-

-

20

16

13

10

7

4

T

D

8

-

-

-

20

19

16

13

10

7

T

9

-

-

-

-

20

19

16

10

7

4

10

-

-

-

-

-

20

19

13

10

7

Spellcasting

Casters have three
ways in which they can access and control magic. The first is through
study and copying the spells they learn in their spell book. The
second is by using spells from another person’s spell book or
through the use of scrolls with spells written on them. The final way
is from memory, with no book or scroll to focus the raw arcane forces
the Caster is trying to make manifest.

When a Caster
wishes to cast a spell he or she must roll a saving throw equal to
their wisdom score. If the Caster is casting from their spell book
they incur a -1 to the roll plus a negative modifier equal to the
level of the spell. If the Caster is casting from a scroll or
another’s spell book he incurs a -2 plus a negative modifier equal
to the spell level. If the Caster attempts to cast a spell by memory
alone a -3 modifier plus a negative modifier equal to the spell level
is incurred.

A Caster incurs
further risk in the types of spells that he choses to employ. Spells
that are considered to be
“dark” or evil have a 75% chance of harming the Caster’s soul
and inflicting a loss in sanity (Wisdom) equal to the spell’s
level. While this makes spell casting easier, it also drives the
character closer and closer to insanity (a wisdom score of 5 or
lower).

If the Caster
succeeds the saving throw within normal range the spell goes off like
normal. If the Caster succeeds with a natural 20 (a critical) than
the spell has twice the effect it would normally have.

If the Caster fails
the saving throw within normal range one of the effects listed below
occurs. If the Caster fails with a natural 1 (a fumble) to the saving
throw than the magic burns out their mind and they are effectively
brain dead.

Table
3 – Spell
Failure Results

Dice
Roll (d10)

Result

1

The
spell fizzles and is burned away

2-3

Another
unintended spell goes off affecting everyone in the encounter

4-5

The
magic-user forgets how to read or cast magic for 1d4 hours

6-7

The
spell fizzles away

8-9

The
energy of the magic backfires causing the magi-user 1d4 damage.

10

The
spell blows-up in the magic-users face causing double its normal
effect

Casters & Culture

Most of the peoples
of the world have certain individuals or sects that have through
study, bargains, or family lines gained access to the forces arcane.
Some examples are as follow.

Numbar –
The barbarian tribes of the wild north have a long tradition of
shamans, skulds, and seers who act as advisors and healers to the
elders and peoples of their tribes. While it is uncommon for Numbar
casters to practice magics that are violent or “dark” in nature
it is not unheard of. These Casters are shunned by the tribes of the
Numbar and care the dishonorable title of Grim.

Robathen –
The Robathens have long been regarded as a people dedicated to the
scholarly ways and the understanding of the universe. The culture has
long had secret cults of Casters usually number in the single digits.
While typically benign in their studies of magic and the universe
some cults have been lead down darker paths. Typically Robathen
Casters are known as Mages and Alchemists.

Zulan – The dark race from the mysterious south is still an
enigma to many and all scholars and adventurous types who have
traveled to the once closed land of Zula have yet to return (and may
never will). The zulan are a highly attuned race of people, and many
of their envoys and priests have shown some knowledge of the forces
arcane. To date the only name associated with Zulan Casters is
Priest.

Table
4 – Caster
Advancement

Level

Experience

Hit
dice (d4)

Saving
Throw

1

2,000

1

18

2

4,000

2

17

3

8,000

3

16

4

16,000

4

15

5

32,000

5

14

6

64,000

6

13

7

128,000

7

12

8

256,000

8

11

9

400,000

9

10

10

544,000

10

09

11+

+144,000

+1HD

08

Table
1 – Enslaving Demons

Spell
Level/SpellsKnown

Caster
Level

1

2

3

4

5

1

-

-

-

-

-

2

1

-

-

-

-

3

2

1

-

-

-

4

2

2

-

-

-

5

3

2

1

-

-

6

3

2

2

-

-

6

3

3

2

-

-

7

4

3

2

1

-

8

4

3

3

2

-

9

4

3

3

2

1

10

4

4

3

2

1

11

4

4

4

3

2

12

5

4

4

3

2

13

5

5

4

3

2

14

5

5

5

4

3

15+

5

5

5

5

4

Spell List

Unlike a normal
original edition retroclone, like Swords & Wizardry, magic
in Arame's world isn't divided into categories like arcane, divine or
natural. Instead all Casters can cast any spell. However, some spells
are considered “Dark” magic and incur an extra penalty when
casting (see spellcasting above). Another thing to remember is that
Arame's world is a Swords & Sorcery world, and as such is
significantly lower in magical power than a typical fantasy game. As
such, no spells exist past the fifth level.

Light Magic

First Level:

1. Cure Light Wounds

2. Detect Magic

3. Entangle

4. Light

5. Purify Food & Drink

6. Shield

7. Sleep

Second Level:

1. Bless

2. Continuous Light

3. ESP

4. Find Traps

5. Hold Person

6. Pyrotechnics

7. Strength

Third Level:

1. Cure Disease

2. Dispel Magic

3. Fly

4. Haste

5. Slow

7. Water Breathing

Fourth Level:

1. Create Water

2. Cure Serious Wounds

3. Polymorph Self

4. Speak with Animals

5. Suggestion

6. Wall of Fire

7. Wall of Ice

Fifth Level:

1. Feeblemind

2. Hold Monster

3. Project Image

4. Rock to Mud

5. Telekineses

6. Wall of Iron

7. Wall of Stone

Dark Magic

First Level:

1. Cause Light Wounds

2. Charm Person

3. Divination

4. Hold Portal

5. Magic Missile

6. Snake Charm

Second Level:

1. Curse

2.Darkness (15 ft radius)

3. Invisibility

4. Knock

5. Phantasmal Force

6. Web

Third Level:

1. Cause Disease

2. Dark Vision

3. Fireball

4. Lightning Bolt

5. Speak to the Dead

6. Suggestion

Fourth Level:

1. Confusion

2. Fear

3. Hallucinatory Terrain

4. Ice Storm

5. Polymorph Other

6. Sticks to Snakes

Fifth Level:

1. Animate Dead

2. Animate Object

3. Blade Barrier

4. Cloudkill

5. Disintegrate

6. Teleport

A

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Comments

That looks like a fun class to dig into, and because I have not had the chance play Swords and Wizardry I have one quick question.I understand the logic behind the caster having turn undead as an ability , but is there another class that also turns undead? Would this class lessen that other classes role? Or is is this more like a necormancer thing where they should have some effect on undead due to their dark Magic natures..Either way it's darn cool.

In normal Swords & Wizardry there are the cleric and the magic-user classes. The hope would be that The Caster class would replace both the Cleric and Magic-User. If the cleric is still around however, it would lessen the effectiveness of the class as The Caster has access to a lot of the cleric's abilities and Magic-Users abilities.

Fantastic, Just asking, it looks cool as hell, It would be a great option especially in a game with fewer players where a more rounded spell caster might have to carry the load of two other classes. Good show sir.I very much want to give S&W a spin one of these days.

"because the forces arcane are hash masters and could easily kill any who attempt to use it."

Drug lords? Even though it was a typo, not a bad idea.

Regarding Clerics, perhaps they could be Paladins of the Light magic. Also, you could have Warlocks of Dark magic, similar to the Elf class (in function not form). Elves could be Light or Dark. Druids could borrow from both spell lists to keep the balance between Law and Chaos.

I like the concept of splitting the spells into opposing factions for a fantasy setting. However, is it the magic spell itself that is blessed/tainted, or how you use it?

Plenty of the spells on the Light list could be cast with evil intent. Does this also risk the caster's sanity?

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